Menu

Keeping the Spy Genre Alive: A Review of KINGSMAN

Since the James Bond franchise first started in the 60s it has had many imitators and parodies. Very rarely do these films capture the essence of the classic Bond films. Kingsman: The Secret Service however gets it all just right.

Directed by Matthew Vaughn, Kingsman is the story of the Eggsy (Taron Edgerton), a young and talented kid who is wasting all his potential on a life of crime. When he is noticed by secret agent Harry Hart (Colin Firth), Eggsy is invited to join the Kingsmen and stop an evil mastermind from unleashing his secret weapon. In the words of Colin Fith, “Interested?”

What this spy movie does that other James Bond parodies do not is simply just take inspiration from James Bond, not copy it. Instead of taking the tropes from Bond films and copying them, Kingsman retains the feel of past films, but creates its own brand of spy movie at the same time.

The plot is the basic evil mastermind tries to create his perfect world, the heroes have to stop him. However, even this feels fresh. Every aspect of Kingsman feels new and unique, while retaining popular elements of the past.

The actors in this movie all look as if they are having a great time making this movie. It shows in every scene they are in. Veteran actors such as Colin Firth, Michael Cain, Mark Strong, and Samuel Jackson all do a great job with their roles. However, even with all these actors, the young actors like Taron Edgerton still hold their own.

Matthew Vaughn shows his skills behind the camera as well. The camera work and cinematography are superb in every scene, but they shine especially in the action segments. There are several impressive action scenes that are framed very well considering how intense these moments are.

Overall, Kingsman is a fresh and intriguing take on the usual spy film. Instead of simply being a carbon copy of past films, Kingsman used what worked in the past and creates its own kind of movie. This uniqueness is what sets this film apart from the rest, and for that Kingsman deserves to be viewed by fans of the spy genre as well of fans of film as well.